Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Fiber by Jennifer-Crystal Johnson Interview, Excerpt & Giveaway

Anna Reynolds is caught up in the middle of a
secret interdimensional government agreement... and she doesn't even know it.

There's a medical anomaly loosely dubbed Morgellons disease afflicting a number
of people. Symptoms include open sores that produce colorful string-like
fibers, fatigue, and nightmarish visions of shadowy figures. No one knows where
it came from. No one knows what causes it. There is no cure.

When Anna begins having nightmares and waking hallucinations of the shadow
people, her uneasiness about her condition grows. Enlisting the help of her
doctor and some friends, Anna is determined to find out what's really going on
and why Morgellons is such a mystery.

With her health declining and doubts about whom she can trust, is Anna doomed
to become a slave to her condition? Or will she and her unlikely group of
would-be heroes come through, saving her... and, ultimately, the world?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt One:

As Anna walked home through the glistening streets of
Deeplake, Washington, she adjusted her scarf and wrapped her coat around
herself tightly, her breath fogging up the air in front of her. After a brief
glance over her shoulder, she quickened her pace, her bag of groceries
teetering in her arms momentarily as she readjusted her grip.

She’d been feeling like someone was watching or following
her for weeks. At first she just shrugged it off as her own overactive
imagination, but the other day, she could’ve sworn she saw a shadow out of the
corner of her eye. When she looked, there was nothing there. That wasn’t the
first time she had seen shadows. They were always there, just out of sight,
their existence never confirmed by a direct glance. But every time it happened,
she got goosebumps and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end like it
does when you know someone is watching you.

Her left eye began to feel itchy and grainy as she walked,
and she cursed herself for not driving. She blinked several times, but after a
few moments her eye felt like it had sand in it again. This was accompanied by
an unpleasant tickling sensation, which became annoying very quickly.

Her thoughts wandered as her eye got worse. She felt guilty
but justified for not mentioning her problems to Casey, who had more than
enough on her plate already. She also didn’t want to come across as crazy; Anna
was certain she wasn’t. Some of the recent events in her life were crazy, but
she was definitely sane.

Do crazy people think they’re sane?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Jennifer-Crystal
Johnson is originally from Germany, but was raised an Army brat. She has
published one novella under her former last name, The Outside Girl: Perception
is Reality (Publish America, 2005 - out of print as of 2013), a poetry book,
Napkin Poetry (Broken Publications, 2010), and a collection of poetry, art, and
prose called Strangers with Familiar Faces (Broken Publications, 2011). She's
also published a collection of short creature horror stories called If You're
Human Don't Open the Door (Broken Publications, 2012), a personal development
book called The Ten Pillars of a Happy Relationship (Broken Publications,
2014), and a collection of more horror stories (no creatures this time, just
people) called Our Capacity for Evil (Broken Publications, 2015). She has
several poems and short stories published on Every Writer's Resource and has
recently published a science fiction novel called Fibers, the first book in the
Infiltration Trilogy. Jen owns and operates Broken Publications (www.BrokenPublications.com) and
publishes an annual anthology to raise awareness about domestic violence called
Soul Vomit (www.SoulVomit.com). When she isn't writing or editing, she enjoys
playing games with her three kids, watching crime shows on Netflix, or reading.
She lives in WA State with her three children, three cats, and a crazy puppy
named Thor. You can connect with her at http://www.JenniferCrystalJohnson.com, http://www.twitter.com/brokenpoet,
or www.Facebook.com/JenniferCrystalJohnson.

Hello, and thank you so much for
having me here! I hope you’ve enjoyed the blog tour, excerpts, and interviews
so far, and that you continue to follow the tour as well as the Infiltration
Trilogy’s first novel, Fibers.

Where
are you from?

I was actually just joking with
someone about being asked this question because it’s a kind of complicated
answer… always has been, lol. I was born in Germany and raised in numerous
different places including Germany, Missouri, Colorado, and Washington State.
In my adult life, I have lived mostly in WA State but briefly lived in
Tennessee/Kentucky where my ex-husband was stationed. Since I returned to WA,
I’ve lived in the same town and the house I currently live in is actually the
longest I’ve ever lived in one place… ever. A strange realization when you’ve
been used to so much change throughout your life =).

Tell us your latest news?

The latest news is all crazy… there’s
been a lot of stuff going on, some of which I can’t disclose, but I’ve been
enjoying a new part-time job outside the home, which is the first time I’ve
worked anywhere outside the home in almost 10 years. Of course I’m still
freelancing and writing, but I needed a source of income that was more reliable
as not all freelance projects or clients are created equal. In other news, I
decided to put myself out there again after being single for about four years,
so we’ll see what happens with that, lol.

When and why did you begin writing?

I’ve loved writing since I can
remember, but the pivotal point for me was in about third or fourth grade when
I had an idea for a book series that I thought was the coolest thing ever =). At the time, I was also
learning to play the keyboard/piano and was very in touch with my creativity.
When I was 13, I got my first freelance writing job online, which was awesome
and paid really well; that job helped me to save up enough money to record a
demo CD of my original music, which I then wrote about for the online teen site
and got paid for as well. As for why I started writing… I have always loved it.
Writing quite literally saved my life on several occasions and still helps me
deal with things that are going on in my life, which is fantastic. I wish I had
more hours a day to devote to writing; unfortunately being a single mom with
two jobs makes that difficult at best. If you and your readers love my books
and buy them, I’m one more step in the direction of my ultimate dreams coming
true ;).

When did you first consider yourself
a writer?

I officially considered myself a
writer when I managed to land that freelance job online at age 13. I was so
excited – and flattered to be asked! It was a really fun job and encouraged me
to write a lot more fiction, too. I won’t lie – most of those childhood stories
remained unfinished, but I think all that writing gave me a solid foundation to
be an excellent novelist.

What inspired you to write your first book?

My first book was based on a dream I
had that haunted me. Many of my ideas come from dreams I have (they get pretty
crazy, lol), and I actually have a series I want to write after the
Infiltration Trilogy based on a vivid dream I had about a year ago. My first
book was called The Outside Girl:
Perception is Reality and was written while I was pregnant with my younger
daughter at 19 years old. Unfortunately it’s out of print now, but I have been
toying with the idea of revising and expanding it, so we’ll see how that goes
=). The Infiltration Trilogy is my priority though.

What
would you like my readers to know?

That they’re awesome! Readers are the
population keeping authors in business, so thank you all for enjoying good
books. It helps authors’ dreams come true on a very regular basis, which is
phenomenal. So… thank you =).

Thank you again for interviewing me
on your blog! I hope you and your readers like sci-fi, and that you take some
time to check out my novel, Fibers
=). If you enjoy it, please tell your friends and leave a review on Amazon! I
hope you enjoy the rest of your week.